Bed frame mounted foot rest

ABSTRACT

A bed-side structure that is mounted to the upright portion of the rail of a bed frame and extends outwardly to provide a platform for supporting a person&#39;s foot, the structure having a slot for fitting over the upright portion of the bed rail that is dimensioned to provide detachable mounting of said platform to said bed frame, minimize downward sloping of said platform, and to permit sliding of said member along said rail.

BACKGROUND

The background of the invention will be discussed in two parts.

1. Field of the Invention

The invention relates to bedside foot rests and more particularly to abed frame mounted foot rest that permits removal for portability andselective positioning along the bed frame.

2. Description of the Related Art

Prior art bedside foot rests were not found relating to a bed framemounted foot rest as is taught by the present invention: Prior patentsdirected to bedside foot rests have been either bulky and cumbersome orunduly complex so as to be impractical in use and thus commerciallyunacceptable. An example of such prior art is U.S. Pat. No. 4,206,525issued to Williams on 10 Jun. 1980 and entitled “Bedside Foot Rest” thatdiscloses a pivotal support mounted to the bed frame. Other patents ofinterest include U.S. Pat. No. 2,941,215 which discloses a fold-up footstool mounted on upright supports that is swung under the bed, and U.S.Pat. No. 2,975,436 which disclosing a stool-like step also adapted toswing under the bed.

SUMMARY

In view of the prior art there exists a need for an improved bedsidefoot rest as set forth by the present invention which addresses thecontinuing problems of ease of use, low cost, simplicity ofconstruction, removal for portability and selective positioning alongthe bed frame. Accordingly, it is an object of the invention to providea bed frame mounted foot rest that is easily mounted to and removed fromthe bed frame. It is a further object of the invention to provide asmall, simple bed frame mounted foot rest that permits movement of thefoot rest along the bed frame. Other objects, aspects, features andadvantages of the invention will become apparent from a reading of thespecification taken in conjunction with the drawings.

The invention comprises an elongated one piece foot rest structurehaving a slot for fitting over the vertical portion of the bed frame anda cantilevered horizontally extending platform providing support for afoot of a person sitting on the side of the bed. The slot permitslongitudinal positioning along the bed frame.

DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view illustrating the bed frame mounted footrest in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the foot rest of the invention as shownin FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a front view of the foot rest of the invention;

FIG. 4 is an end view of the foot rest of the invention;

FIG. 5 is a rear view of the foot rest of the invention;

FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view of the invention taken along lines 6-6of FIG. 3;

FIG. 7 is a top view of the foot rest of of the invention; and

FIG. 8 is a bottom view of the foot rest of the invention.

DESCRIPTION

Briefly, the foot rest of the invention is comprised of a detachableelongated one piece structure having a slot for fitting over the outsideupright portion of a bed rail and a contiguous outwardly extendingplatform for support of the foot of a person sitting on the bed. Theslot provides means for mounting of the foot rest to the bed rail aswell as means for sliding the foot rest along the bed rail. FIG. 1 is aperspective view illustrating an embodiment of the bed frame mountedfoot rest, generally designated 10, in accordance with the invention. Asillustrated, the footrest is mounted onto bed frame 11, as will bedescribed, with top 12 of the invention shown supporting the foot 13 ofthe user. The foot rest 10 is detachably mounted onto the bed frame 11and can be slid along the bed frame 11, thus allowing for selectivepositioning on the bed frame and removal for portability. As shown, thefoot rest facilitates access to the foot for activities such as toenailclipping. Although nor shown, the surface of foot rest may beergonomically configured for acceptance of the foot of the user. Alsonot shown, the foot rest facilitates access to a shoe worn by a personto facilitate activities such as tying of shoelaces.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the foot rest 10 of the invention.Briefly, the foot rest 10 is comprised of an elongated one piecestructure having a slot 14 defined by a vertical rear portion 15 and therear of a front portion, generally designated 16, front portion 16cantilevered forwardly from the slot 14. Rear portion 15 and frontportion 16 are covered by top 12 to form a platform for support of thefoot of a person sitting on the bed. The surface of top 12 may beprovided with an anti-slip material to foster firm footing of thesurface. Foot rest 10 is mounted to bed frame 11 by fitting slot 14 downover the vertical portion 11 a of the bed frame 11 with rear portion 15on the inside of the vertical portion 11 a and the front portion 16 onthe outside of the vertical portion 11 a of the bed frame 11. By meansof slot 14, rear portion 15 and the rear of front portion 16 areconfigured to fit snugly onto the vertical portion 11 a of the bed frame11 to prevent the root rest 10 from slanting downwardly when weight ofthe user's foot is placed thereon. However, the rear portion 15 and thefront portion 16 are configured loose enough to allow longitudinalpositioning of the foot rest 10 along the bed frame 11. Front portion 16has substantially identical vertical ends 16 a, 16 b and intermediateplanar portion 16 c that depend downwardly from top 12. Ends 16 a, 16 bare curved symmetrically outwardly from the rear of front portion 16 tomeet intermediate vertical planar portion 16 c. Downwardly dependingends 16 a, 16 b and planar portion 16 c cooperate to provide a buttressfor supporting top 12. The foot rest 10 can be of one-piece constructionwith suitable dimensions found to be approximately eight inches inlength, two inches in width and two inches in height. I it isunderstood, however, that the invention can as well be constructed ofmultiple pieces with or without different dimensions.

FIG. 3 is a vertical front view of the foot rest 10 of FIG. 2. Since theends 16 b, 16 c are symmetrically curved outwardly and slanted upwardlyto meet intermediate vertical planar portion 16 c, the bottom ribs 16 d(three shown) can be seen. Ribs 16 d add additional strength to the footrest 10 to provide increased support and stability for the foot 13 ofthe user.

FIG. 4 illustrates the right end view of the foot rest of FIG. 2. Inthis view, the slot 14 as defined by rear portion 15 and front portion16 can be clearly seen. Further, the manner in which the ends 16 a, 16 bare slanted upwardly to meet the intermediate vertical planar portion 16c is more apparent.

FIG. 5 illustrates the rear view of the foot rest of FIG. 2 wherein thetop 12, the rear portion 15, and the front portion 16 are shown.

FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view of the foot rest of the invention takenalong lines 6-6 of FIG. 3 showing the foot rest 10 mounted onto the bedframe 11, that is, the foot rest 10 placed over the vertical portion 11a with the portion 11 a fitted into the slot 14 formed by the rearportion 15 and the front portion 16.

FIG. 7 is a top view of the foot rest 10 of the invention illustratingthe top, or platform, 12, the rear portion 15, ends 16 a, 16 b and frontplanar portion 16 c. As indicated the top 12 has an anti-slip materialapplied to foster firm footing.

FIG. 8 is a bottom view of the foot rest 10 of FIG. 2 illustrating therear portion 15, front portion 16, slot 14, ends 16 a, 16 b, frontplanar portion 16 c and ribs 16 d.

Whereas the invention is illustrated and described with reference to aparticular embodiments thereof, it is to be understood that variouschanges may be made in adapting the invention to different embodimentswithout departing from the broader inventive concepts disclosed herein.

1. A bed frame foot rest comprising: an elongated member for mountingonto the frame of a bed; said member including a longitudinal slot fordetachable mounting onto said bed frame; said member includes acontiguous platform extending outwardly from said slot, and saidplatform provides support for the foot of a person sitting on a side ofa bed.
 2. The bed frame foot rest of claim 1 wherein said slot isdimensioned to permit sliding of said member along said bed frame. 3.The bed frame foot rest of claim 2 wherein said slot is dimensioned tominimize downward sloping of said platform in response to foot pressureby a person.
 4. The bed frame foot rest of claim 3 wherein saidoutwardly extending structure is cantilevered from said slot.
 5. The bedframe foot rest of claim 3 wherein said platform extends horizontallyfrom the front side of said slot.
 6. The bed frame foot rest of claim 3wherein said platform includes an ergonomically formed surface.
 7. A bedframe foot rest comprising an elongated member having a slot along therear thereof for mounting said elongated member on a bed-frame such thata horizontally outwardly extending structure contiguous with andextending from the front side of said slot is supportable of a person'sfoot when a person is sitting on a side of a bed.
 8. The bed frame footrest of claim 7 wherein said outwardly extending structure iscantilevered from said slot.
 9. The bed frame foot rest of claim 7wherein said slot is dimensioned to provide detachable mounting of saidelongated member to said bed frame.
 10. The bed frame foot rest of claim9 wherein said slot is dimensioned to minimize downward sloping of saidoutwardly extending structure.
 11. The bed frame foot rest of claim 7wherein said outwardly extending structure includes a top portion forplacement of a person's foot, a front vertical planar portion dependingfrom said top portion and parallel to said slot, and identical verticalcurved member ends depending from said top portion and extending to meetsaid front planar portion.
 12. A foot rest to be attached to a bed framecomprising: a platform for supporting a person's foot; said platformhaving means for mounting to the upright portion of the rail of a bedframe and extending outwardly from said bed frame; and said means formounting including a slot for fitting over said upright portion of saidrail.
 13. The foot rest of claim 12 wherein said slot is dimensioned toprovide detachable mounting of said platform to said bed frame, minimizedownward sloping of said platform, and to permit sliding of said memberalong said rail.
 14. The bed frame foot rest of claim 13 wherein saidoutwardly extending structure is cantilevered from said slot.